The present invention relates generally to chairs, and more specifically to a folding chair foldable into a compact state for convenient storage and transport.
Compared to other seating devices, folding chairs offer the advantages of being compact and lightweight. Generally, folding chairs are easier to store and transport than are non-folding chairs. Further, folding chairs may often be purchased at a lower cost than non-folding chairs.
Folding chairs are designed and manufactured in a variety of forms. Typically, however, a folding chair consists of a seat, a backrest, and foldable support structures, including front and rear legs. In an open configuration, the seat supports the weight of a person while the backrest provides support for the person's back, so the person may comfortably lean back while seated. In a folded configuration, the components fold together, often overlapping, for storage and/or transport.
In most conventional foldable chairs, the front legs extend upwardly to receive or form at least a portion of a backrest; the seat and the front legs are hinged together; and the seat is slidably connected with the rear legs through a connecting device. In an earlier version of this type of foldable chair, when folded, the seat is pivoted upwardly toward to the backrest so that the seat and backrest overlap, while the front legs and the rear legs abut against each other. In a newer version of this type of foldable chair, when folded, the seat is pivoted upwardly toward the backrest but the seat is positioned in a space beneath the backrest so that the seat and backrest are substantially co-planar. However, even with the improvement, the front legs and back legs overlap and cannot be collectively positioned co-planar with the backrest and seat. Moreover, the overall length of the chair cannot be reduced due to the front legs being integral to the backrest. Thus, problems with storage and transport, including the requirement of increased shelf space in retail stores and inefficient packaging for shipping, often arise because of the thickness as well as the overall length of the folded chair.
In an effort to solve the problems associated with conventional foldable chairs, an improved foldable chair that is foldable into a more compact configuration was developed, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. The foldable chair of the prior art includes a front leg frame 22′, a rear leg frame 21′ and a backrest frame 3′ pivotally coupled to a seat 1′. The rear leg frame 21′ is slidably coupled to a pair of spaced apart slots 11′ on a bottom portion of the seat 1′. Each component is positioned such that in an open configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, the backrest frame 3′ is supported by an upper portion of the front leg frame 22′, and the rear leg frame 21′ engages front ends of the slots 11′ such that the front leg frame 22′ forms an X-shape with respect to the rear leg frame 21′. To fold the chair, as shown in FIG. 2, the leg frames 21′ and 22′ are pivoted toward each other as the seat 1′ is pivoted downward to overlap with the folded leg frames 21′ and 22′. The backrest 4′ is then pivoted toward the seat 1′, such that the front leg frame 22′, rear leg frame 21′, backrest frame 3′ and seat 1′ are positioned substantially co-planar to each other, as shown in FIG. 3.
Even though the improved foldable chair of the prior art provides a more compact folded configuration, the folding procedure is inconvenient because the chair must be folded in two separate steps. It is further inconvenient to fold the chair because during the folding process the user must engage portions of the chair which are not easy to handle, e.g., the bottom portion of the backrest frame 32′, which could pose safety issues.
What is needed, therefore, is a folding chair that is stable and secure when unfolded and in use, which is capable of safely folding in one continuous motion into a substantially flat, compact package with reduced length for more convenient transport and storage.